# David Ludwig (Mediziner)

David Samuel Ludwig (* 24. Dezember 1957 in Los Angeles) ist ein US-amerikanischer Kinderarzt und Ernährungswissenschaftler, der als Professor an der Harvard Medical School und an der Harvard School of Public Health arbeitet. Seine internationale Anerkennung verdankt er insbesondere seinen Veröffentlichungen zur Adipositas und ihren Ursachen.

## Wissenschaftliche Forschung

Im Mittelpunkt seiner Analyse steht der Insulinstoffwechsel des Menschen. Bei einer fettreichen Ernährung bleibe der Insulinspiegel im Blut konstant, während er bei einer stärke- oder zuckerlastigen Diät zunächst rapide ansteige und dann rapide falle. Dies störe den Fettstoffwechsel der Zellen und verhindere, dass der Körper auf die in den Zellen eingelagerten Fettreserven zugreife. Stattdessen verspüre der Mensch bereits kurz nach dem Essen wieder Hunger und nehme entsprechend mehr Nahrung zu sich.
Aus seinen vielfach veröffentlichten Ergebnissen leitet er Ernährungsvorschläge ab, die den etablierten Vorstellungen einer fettarmen Diät grundlegend widersprechen. Allein die Menge der zugeführten Nahrungsenergie zu betrachten, sei hiernach nicht zielführend, zumeist sogar kontraproduktiv. Die historische Zunahme der Adipositas verbindet er mit dem Aufkommen der Low-Fat-Bewegung Mitte der 1970er-Jahre.

## Schriften (Auswahl)

* The 2015 US Dietary Guidelines: lifting the ban on total dietary fat. (JAMA 2015)
* Pregnancy weight gain and childhood body weight: a within-family comparison. (PLoS Med 2013)
* Effects of dietary glycemic index on brain regions related to reward and craving in men. (AJCN 2013)
* A randomized trial of sugar-sweetened beverages and adolescent body weight. (NEJM 2012)
* Surgical vs lifestyle treatment for type 2 diabetes. (JAMA 2012)
* Weight loss strategies for adolescents: a 14-year-old struggling to lose weight. (JAMA 2012)
* The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, soda, and USDA policy: who benefits? (JAMA 2011)
* Effects of a low-glycemic load diet in overweight and obese pregnant women: a pilot randomized controlled trial. (AJCN 2010)
* Dietary guidelines in the 21st century--a time for food. (JAMA 2010)
* The association between pregnancy weight gain and birthweight: a within-family comparison. (JAMA 2010)
* Bring back home economics education. (JAMA 2010)
* Front-of-package food labels: public health or propaganda? (JAMA 2010)
* Artificially sweetened beverages: cause for concern. (JAMA 2009)
* The public health and economic benefits of taxing sugar-sweetened beverages. (NEJM 2009)
* Acute effects of dietary glycemic index on antioxidant capacity in a nutrient-controlled feeding study. (JAMA 2009)
* Obesity and the economy: from crisis to opportunity. (JAMA 2009)
* The importance of biodiversity to medicine. (JAMA 2008)
* Can the food industry play a constructive role in the obesity epidemic? (JAMA 2008)
* Storm over statins--the controversy surrounding pharmacologic treatment of children. (NEJM 2008)
* Mindfulness in medicine. (JAMA 2008)
* Effects of replacing the habitual consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages with milk in Chilean children. (AJCN 2008)
* A novel interaction between dietary composition and insulin secretion: effects on weight gain in the Quebec Family Study. (AJCN 2008)
* Childhood obesity--the shape of things to come. (NEJM 2007)
* Effects of a low-glycemic load vs low-fat diet in obese young adults: a randomized trial. (JAMA 2007)
* Clinical update: the low-glycaemic-index diet. (Lancet 2007)
* Relationship between funding source and conclusion among nutrition-related scientific articles. (PLoS Med 2007)
* Effects of decreasing sugar-sweetened beverage consumption on body weight in adolescents: a randomized, controlled pilot study. (Pediatrics 2006)
* The insulin-like growth factor axis: a potential link between glycemic index and cancer. (AJCN 2005)
* A potential decline in life expectancy in the United States in the 21st century. (NEJM 2005)
* Fast-food habits, weight gain, and insulin resistance (the CARDIA study): 15-year prospective analysis. (Lancet 2005)
* Effects of dietary glycaemic index on adiposity, glucose homoeostasis, and plasma lipids in animals. (Lancet 2004)
* Sugar-sweetened beverages, weight gain, and incidence of type 2 diabetes in young and middle-aged women. (JAMA 2004)
* Compensation for energy intake from fast food among overweight and lean adolescents. (JAMA 2004)
* A reduced-glycemic load diet in the treatment of adolescent obesity. (Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2003)
* The glycemic index: physiological mechanisms relating to obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. (JAMA 2002)
* Type 2 diabetes mellitus in children: primary care and public health considerations. (JAMA 2001)
* Relation between consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks and childhood obesity: a prospective, observational analysis. (Lancet 2001)
* Dietary composition and physiologic adaptations to energy restriction. (AJCN 2000)
* Dietary glycemic index and obesity. (J Nutr 2000)
* High glycemic index foods, overeating, and obesity. (Pediatrics 1999)